I can tell you the university that published that paper (16 years ago) is attached to a major research hospital for humans but has no veterinary program. Maybe it's in one of Josephine's books.

Edit: I wonder if it was written by a pathology student? PAT 707 looks like a course number for a graduate level class. Also "winter quarter" is mentioned. Said university hasn't been on the quarter system in ages.

Edit2: Please note I do not mean to imply that old=bad because there are many old references that are far superior to those currently in print.

Last edited by rshevin on Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:07 am, edited 2 times in total.

I am betting you might be able to use fish water testing kits to determine the ph.

Would be great if we had some scientifically minded people who could do some tests on their pigs to get some sort of idea of the actual ranges (and if it is different for pigs with some sorts of problems or on different medications).

The strips I have are manufactured by a scientific supply company, Whatman. They're left over from my hands on science kit from way back when. A possibly more accurate deterimination may be made with red cabbage juice. I've always found it easier to read than these durn strips. Any non-digital method I've ever heard of isn't going to get you a value more accurate than 1 pH unit though. That's just the nature of the beast.

One variable could be that my pigs had just finished eating when I tested them. This week's diet is green leaf and green beans.

Polycitra-K Solution is a urinary alkalinizing agent. It neutralizes some of the acid in your urine, which reduces the formation of crystals in your urine that could become kidney stones or aggravate gout.

The information you received is incorrect. Did you get it from the vet or a human pharmacy?

I read back on all the old threads about Polycitra. It looks as if it has an effect on calcium carbonate stones, none on struvite - but most importantly it does no harm even if it's not effective. Also that it doesn't change the pH of gp urine.

With that in mind I started Candy on it tonight. I gave her 0.15cc in 1.5ccs of water - she seemed to like it! I gave her a little piece of red pepper first so her stomach was full.